


Sing a Sad Song Just to Turn it Around

by colazitron



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-25
Updated: 2010-11-25
Packaged: 2017-11-27 08:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colazitron/pseuds/colazitron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel has a really bad day. Who’s gonna cheer him up?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sing a Sad Song Just to Turn it Around

**Sing a Sad Song Just to Turn it Around**

When Castiel reluctantly opened his eyes that morning, he was rewarded for his bravery with grey clouds and what looked to be rain or at least the promise of it. But, okay, he guessed that was to be expected in the middle of November. He could deal with this. Ignoring the cold that hit his comfortably warm skin when he threw the blanket back, he traipsed over to his stereo and the iPod docked there and hit play.

When he wanted to get dressed, he realized his favorite sweatshirt was still in the laundry that continued to refuse to magically wash itself. (Again, as expected.) Frowning, he stared at the contents of his closet and finally pulled out a dress shirt, his favorite blue tie and a black cardigan instead. It wasn’t ideal, but it would work with the jeans he’d worn yesterday. (He didn’t feel like putting on a new pair. He hated how stiff they were for the first hour or two and didn’t feel like dealing with that right now.) And he always felt comfortable when he dressed up just a little.

When he came downstairs, looking for his sister, he found a note instead. It told him that Anna was incredibly sorry, but she had promised to pick up her study date, Pamela, before school and had needed the car for it. Glancing at the clock told him that he would miss the bus and thus his only option was walking. (The bike had a flat tire. It was also pink and had been Anna’s 13th birthday present and while Castiel didn’t particularly care for gender stereotypes, he was still in high school and knew social suicide when he saw it.) So walking it was. (Castiel swallowed a growl and reached for an umbrella instead.) By the time he had reached the school, his pant legs were damp from the rain and his cheeks flushed from hurrying so much. But he was on time and his trench coat and umbrella had kept the rest of him dry. It could be worse, he thought.

When his AP English teacher decided to hold a pop quiz, he _knew_ it could have been worse, because it had just gotten worse. Not because Castiel didn’t know the answers to the questions – he was confident he did – but because the guy sitting next to him was a notorious cheater and Castiel refused to let him copy his answers. This would no doubt lead to prodding and poking and even kicking during the quiz and accusations and name-calling later. Castiel sighed and resigned to his fate.

When at lunch he was singled out (again) by Zach and his eternally grim-faced buddy (crony? minion? servant? soldier?) whose name no one even recalled anymore because everyone just used his nickname “Uriel” (after the archangel in charge of all things unpleasant and dead), Castiel had little patience left for this day.

“Can we just skip this today, Zach?” Castiel asked, one hand tiredly running through his hair. He didn’t have to see the other boy’s sneer to know the inquiry had been an exercise in futility.

“Little Castiel appears to be tired, doesn’t he?” Zach put on fake concern and peered closely at Castiel’s face. Uriel remained his silent, stone-faced self.

“I do not have the patience for this today,” Castiel informed the other boy and fully intended to just leave him standing there and get his lunch, but that was when Uriel stepped forward and gripped his arm. Hard. Castiel grit his teeth and counted to five in his head.

“Uriel-” he started, just as a blond girl stepped up next to him and linked their arms.

“Hey, Cas,” she greeted with a peppy smile. “What are you guys talking about?”

“We were just leaving,” Zach answered smoothly and nodded to Uriel to let go of Castiel’s arm. With a last sneer in his direction, they turned around and walked off.

“Thank you, Jo, but there was really no need to step in,” Castiel smiled at the girl.

“I know. But he’s a freshman and you’re a senior and if it blew up, they’d probably blame you. Not like it hasn’t happened before.” Someone called her name then and with an apologetic smile at him, she left to join the girl waving to her. Lunch alone it was.

When Castiel’s afternoon classes came around, he decided to simply get through this day, go home and proceed to forget it ever happened. One more pop quiz, a paint spill and getting drenched by a car speeding through a puddle too close to the side walk later he closed the front door behind himself and briefly considered leaning against it. He knew though that if he were to give in to that particular temptation he’d lean there for the larger part of the next ten minutes.

Somehow Castiel made it up to his room (and even managed to put away his shoes and coat downstairs). There was still math homework to do for tomorrow, but he didn’t exactly have problems with that so it could wait a little while. Right now Castiel wanted to curl up and wallow in his misery and fuck it all, he was still a teenager and his life was too boring anyway. Might as well make it a teen drama movie.

He dropped his bag by the door to his room and climbed onto the bed. Sprawling out over it and closing his eyes, he felt his exhaustion spread down into the marrow of his bones. The buzz in his ears washed over him and gradually drowned out the outside world and his perception of time.

“Cas?”

When his sister’s voice dragged him back, Castiel couldn’t say how long he’d been lying on the bed. A brief, not entirely voluntary, glance at the bed side alarm clock told him it had only been a bit more than fifteen minutes. Not nearly long enough.

“You need anything?” he asked, rolling around and meeting Anna’s eyes.

“Yes. I need to share these with you,” she declared and held up a paper container that was probably the only thing that would cheer Castiel up no matter what.

“Hot chocolate and muffins?” he asked anyway and scooted over to make room for her on the bed. (He suspected it was less the hot chocolate and muffin and more the fact that even though she’d only caught glimpses of him as they passed each other in the hall today, she knew he’d need this.)

“You’re an angel,” he said, taking the box from her so she could sit down. “Have I ever told you that?”

“Not recently,” she smiled and put her head on his shoulder.

“What happened?” she asked while he carefully maneuvered the cups of hot chocolate out of their restraints and handed her one.

“Just a sucky day.”

“Aw, poor baby.”

“Yes.”

Silent comfort had always worked best for Castiel, so he didn’t mind that after that the only sounds were those of the two of them eating and drinking and sighing occasionally.

“You know there’s nothing wrong with you, right?” Anna eventually broke the silence.

“Why would I think there’s something wrong with me?” Castiel asked back.

“It’s just… Zach’s a jealous little bastard. Don’t let him get to you.”

“I don’t. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though, does it?”

“’Course not.”

They lapsed back into silence and it wasn’t until Anna got up to leave that she spoke again.

“I think you’re absolutely perfect the way you are and if those cretins are too blind to see that then fuck them.”

“I know,” Castiel smiled, because he and his sister made a point of not letting each other forget that.

“You love to hear it,” she smiled. _I love you._

“I do,” Castiel smiled back. _Love you too._

With a wink she exited the room, leaving behind the smell of her flowery perfume, muffins and hot chocolate.

**The End**


End file.
